Hope & Gloria - Sewing Inspiration for Children

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

This year Halloween turned out to be a very last minute affair in our house. With the impending house move we didn't plan our usual party and the boys felt that now they are all teenagers (or nearly), it was time for them to put aside such childish things as dressing up.

This didn't stop me from getting the box of decorations from the loft and decorating our porch on Sunday afternoon ready to welcome trick or treaters the following evening.

I also managed to find some time for a spot of Halloween themed embroidery. I love Mexican Sugar Skulls with their intricate designs and bright colours. I wrote about their origins and use on this blog three years ago. If you'd like to know more click here . This year I had lots of fun using different embroidery stitches to create my own and the shape of the skull suits using an embroidery ring as a frame. It is now hanging on the wall in my workroom.

Yesterday evening when the boys arrived home from school the pumpkins were still uncarved and they had very little interest in turning them in to Jack O' Lanterns until I remembered a top tip from a friend and brought out my secret weapon - a drill!

Yes, it seems power tools are the answer when it comes to pumpkin carving post twelve years of age. Elliot and Theo were more than happy to get involved in making my glitter ball pumpkin. (Isaac was not so keen as he couldn't bear the smell of the pumpkin!) In just over an hour the pumpkins were carved and displayed on the doorstep in all their glowing glory!

We had more trick or treaters than normal this year - and Halloween turned out to be a fun evening after all with just enough sweets left over at the end of the evening to ensure smiley faces all around in our house!

Hope & Gloria Childrens' Sewing

About Me

Hello my name is Keeley. I am the Founder and Director of Hope & Gloria Ltd and I am very lucky that my favourite pastime and passion is also my career. I started Hope & Gloria Ltd four years ago with a sewing club at my childrens' school. Today at Hope & Gloria my team and I teach 550, 7 to 11 year olds how to sew each week. Our clubs run in schools across the East Berkshire and North Surrey area. We also run hugely popular holiday workshops. It is quite simply incredibly rewarding. I love everything about my job from designing the projects we make in our clubs through to seeing them completed by the children who come to our clubs. Children adore making cool and funky accessories which they are proud to take home.
Sewing has always been a passion of mine. I was lucky enough to be taught to sew, embroider and knit by my truly wonderful Grandmother and Aunt from the age of five. This led to a lifelong passion and these days I remain addicted to beautiful fabric.
My other full time job is being a Mum to my three amazing boys aged 13, 12 and 10 - my most rewarding challenge.
I live in Berkshire with my fab husband Giles, our boys, our dog Elsie and cat Bear.